a. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to plant hangers and supports and more particularly to plant hangers adapted to suspend plastic flower pots or the like by the collar thereof.
b. Description of the Prior Art
Certain plants, usually of the "trailing" type, such as the Wandering Jew, are best potted within receptacles that can be hung or otherwise supported above the floor surface. This allows the plant to trail downwardly in a natural manner as it grows.
A flower pot or similar receptacle is most easily suspended by any of the commercially available pot hangers. A first major category of hangers includes those having a base portion for supporting a flower pot from beneath and a number of support lines upwardly extending from the base portion for attachment to a hanging hook or ring. Examples of hangers falling into this first category would be macrame hangers which are usually made by knotting jute or other fibrous materials into a desired structure.
A second category of hangers includes those having a plurality of suspension arms which terminate in a hook at one end and which have their free ends adapted to engage holes or apertures formed in the sides or bottom of a plant pot. Examples of plant hangers falling into this category are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,943,661 of DeVito et al., and 3,981,099 of Dziewulski.
While plant pot hangers falling within the first two categories can be constructed so as to be aesthetically pleasing or even beautiful, virtually all such hangers include more materials, and perhaps labor, than necessary to do the job. For example, while a macrame pot hanger may be a work of art, it is usually laboriously hand crafted. Hangers which engage apertures formed in the plant pot either require custom-made pots or they require that existing pots be modified so as to be usable with that particular type of hanger.
A third, and usually least expensive, category of plant hangers includes those hangers formed from a single continuous length of wire which have a hook portion, a pair of downwardly extending suspension arm portions, and a pair of clamping portions formed at the end of the arm portions for engaging the collar of a pot. Such hangers can be formed from inexpensive materials, such as twelve-guage mild steel, and typically cost only pennies apiece to produce. Because of their low cost, they, along with an associated plastic plant pot, can be distributed with the sale of a plant.
The clamping portions of prior art hangers of the third category have several problems, a first being that the clamping portions may not firmly engage the collar of the pot and thus may lose their grip under adverse conditions. Another problem is that the clamping portions usually require intricate wire bending to effectively form the clamping or support portions. This intricate wire bending, together with extra amounts of wire which may be needed in the course of manufacturing many thousands of plant pot hangers, can represent considerable sums of money.
A further disadvantage of prior art hangers of the third category is that their hook portions are formed perpendicular to their suspension arm portions which makes the hangers difficult to stack for compact storage.